SEOUL (Reuters) – A ship carrying six South Koreans went missing off Taiwan and a search and rescue operation is under way, Seoul’s foreign ministry said on Friday.
Taiwan authorities have informed the South Korean government that they received distress signals from the Kyoto 1 at around 9:50 a.m. (0050 GMT) on Thursday, the ministry said, adding that all six people aboard were South Korean nationals.
The Sierra Leon-flagged, 322-ton ship was on its way to Indonesia’s Batam port from the South Korean city of Busan while towing the Kyoto 2 tender, which has been found in the area.
The ministry has launched an emergency response team and dispatched a patrol ship and helicopters to support the search operation, it added.
In a separate accident, one of the helicopters headed to Taiwan crashed in waters off South Korea’s southernmost Mara island on Friday, killing two pilots with a third missing, the Yonhap news agency reported, citing coast guard officials.
(Reporting by Hyonhee Shin; Editing by Stephen Coates)
